All posts by Dan Lambourne - Senior Human Resources Generalist

Just as wearing an “I voted” sticker has a time and a place, so too does the ugliest sweater you own. That’s right. It’s that time magical time when otherwise sensible adults deliberately dress like their grandmother's couch had a love child with a craft store explosion. The beauty of Ugly Sweater Day lies in its delicious irony – the more you fail at fashion, the more you succeed at the holiday. It's the only day of the year when "Where did you get that hideous thing?" is a genuine compliment.

Here is a day to consider protecting sensitive data, whether it's names, addresses, social security numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, financial data, or biometric records! Today's the day to double-check your systems and ensure accurate information management. It’s Computer Security Day, baby! 2-factor authentication? Check. Fingerprint and facial recognition? Check. Passwords over 15 characters long with alternating capital and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers? Check!Your IT team is metaphorically making you double-pull on that yellow tab to ensure you’re strapped in securely.

Happy National Ask a Stupid Question Day! Today’s the day you get a free pass on asking dumb questions like, “Do fish get thirsty?” or “Why isn’t 11 pronounced ‘onety-one’?” We can’t stop people from teasing you until the cows come home (what time is that again?), but we can tell you it’s allowed on this day. In the US, Ask a Stupid Question Day’s default day is today, September 28, but it’s usually observed on the last school day in September. But why?!? Who started this nonsense?Teachers. And….

In a world where we’re tethered to our phones, business work seeps into our home lives, and AI shoves information down our throats, it can be tough to just chill out. Let’s set a cozier scene: You have nowhere to be, no mess to clean, no person to call, and no commitments to keep. You, my friends, are ready to relax, and it’s the perfect day to do so. For today, August 15, is National Relaxation Day. Relaxation techniquesAs fellow busybees, we understand that sometimes you just need to get things done.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Wait, what is that thing? World UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) Day occurs on July 2nd each year, and we’re geeking out about it. If you’ve experienced close encounters with extraterrestrial forces, you wouldn’t be the only one. In fact, this goes back as far as the Puritans. Diary records from John Winthrop in 1639 mention an incident involving 3 men in a row boat. “‘When it stood still, it flamed up, and was about three yards square,’ the governor reported, ‘when it ran, it was contracted into the figure of a swine.

Alright, gather 'round, fellow wizards and witches! It's time to unveil the secrets to mastering the mystical art of professional development at Smarty. Yes, “wizardry” typically refers to wearing cloaks, wielding wands, riding broomsticks, and mixing potions. At Smarty, we think of “wizardry” as being the best at doing what we do. We’re going above and beyond to not only become experts in our field but also stay that way through shifts in technology and culture. However, being the best shouldn’t be an afterthought; at Smarty, it’s not.

Navigating the depths of corporate cultureIn today's business world, many companies create a surface-level culture within their company structures but stop there, never seeming to invest fully in deepening a healthy culture. Surface-level culture can be visually appealing and immediately gratifying. Imagine, for example, a delicious cake. It’s beautifully decorated but tastes off or is missing an ingredient that spoils the final product. An intentional and deep culture is hard work. It takes time, action, correction, and honest feedback from everyone in the company.

Meet Dirk, Smarty's very own Swiss Army knife, with a smile. Officially, our Operations Engineer Team Lead, he's our go-to guru for IT, building management, APIs, and more. He’s also known around the office for running the movie script reading group (A group of Smarty workers who spend their lunch reading through well-known and classic movie scripts. ). Picture him as the superhero of systems, ensuring everything runs like a well-oiled machine, providing that smooth, worry-free experience for us here and our customers at Smarty.

At Smarty, John Hickey is one of the go-to guys for communicating the intricacies found within the world of address data. With an impressive background that spans from marketing director to SEO and digital marketing manager, John has a real knack for breaking down the particularities of our products into something everyone can grasp. As busy as John gets here at Smarty, he still finds time for self-improvement, applying principles that help at work and in his personal life. Around the office, he's known for his hard work, out-of-this-world bagels, and a quick sense of humor that makes even the most mundane tasks a bit more fun.

We believe wholeheartedly that all work and no play is a dull way to spend our days. While many companies laser focus on productivity and output, we recognize that regularly infusing enjoyment and community into the workplace is essential for an engaged, thriving team. Smarty's culture strikes a balance between innovation and fun, demonstrating that being serious about work doesn’t preclude being serious about play. This blog provides an insider's perspective into how our organization cultivates an energizing, recreational spirit across the company and why fun is a vital ingredient in our secret recipe for success.

In the fast-paced world of software development, it's easy to get lost in boring meetings, pointless tasks, and approaching deadlines. But here at Smarty, we avoid the monotony with a blend of innovation, community, and a heaping side of fun. In this blog, we'll explore the things we do to make Smarty more than a workplace and something truly unique. Lunchtime movie script readingImagine you're in the middle of a busy workday, and you hear dialogues from "The Sandlot" or "Super Mario Bros" echoing into the kitchen.

In today's fast-paced tech world, it's essential to gain insights from those who have been in the trenches, building, testing, and creating software that impacts our daily lives. One such individual is Michael Whatcott, a key figure at Smarty. Let's dive into his journey, approach, and the knowledge he's garnered over the years. But that’s just Michael's professional bio. To know who Michael is, we’ve asked for some clarification. Explain it to a 10-year-old: What do you do at Smarty?I work on the tools and systems that make payments, manage subscriptions, and create reports here at Smarty.

We have the luxury at Smarty of working with some incredibly intelligent, kind, friendly, and in many cases, funny individuals. Today we showcase one of those fantastic individuals, Adam Charlton. Adam came to us with a fantastic amount of technical knowledge. Not only has he worked as a developer performing UI, database management, and security projects for companies such as Qualtrics, but he also comes to us with a robust data analytics background. These experiences have given Adam the technical skills and abilities to code in Go, Java, Javascript, SQL, Python, and C++ and expertise in data visualization, including R and Tableau.

We have the luxury at Smarty of working with some incredibly intelligent, kind, friendly, and in many cases, funny individuals. Today we showcase one of those fantastic individuals, Kiersten Nelthorpe. Kiersten is one of our amazingly talented Software Engineers and is the team lead over our Backend Accounts Engineering team. Her accomplishments include building Microsoft API services for enterprise software, developing features for supply chain tools for Vivint, and building backend reporting APIs for Imagine Learning.

We have the luxury at Smarty of working with some fantastically intelligent, kind, friendly, and in many cases, funny individuals. Today we showcase one of those fantastic individuals, Ryan Cox. Ryan has a history of high-quality performance while problem-solving and team-building at large software companies along Silicon Slopes. You want experience? Ryan has experience. We're talking 61 years collectively in Java, Javascript, Typescript, SQL, Angular, AWS, and loads more. As a key developer at each company he's ever worked at, he's keeping the ball rolling by improving the quality of work we do here at Smarty every day.